


Between the Blue Skies (And Lofty Mountains)

by sinteresting_facts



Category: Cadenza (Webcomic), Original Work
Genre: Demitri and Ainsley are just friends at this point, Fluff, M/M, Other, The Portage Fic, Wet Boys, and once you get wet on trip, friends who portage together, its torture, or at least damp, rain is bullshit on trips, real talk, stay together, that sounds weird if you dont know the context, this is an official Cadenza Side Fic, you stay wet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-18
Updated: 2016-11-18
Packaged: 2018-08-31 15:42:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8584153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinteresting_facts/pseuds/sinteresting_facts
Summary: Portaging is hard, and rain is the last thing you want to deal with.





	

**Author's Note:**

> (For those who don't know, portaging is the act of carrying boats (typically canoes) and gear between navigable waters)
> 
> This fic takes place in Rangeley, Maine
> 
> Characters and story (c) sinteresting_facts 2016

"Ainsley, this is bullshit."

Demitri's voice was drowned out by the rain as He followed Ainsley through the underbrush. The rain refused to let up, and while the canoe he was portaging was a good umbrella, Demitri was still very wet. 

"I think were a quarter mile away, want me to take the boat?" Ainsley yelled back  
, stopping in the middle of the muddy path. all the leaves were tiny mirrors, shiny and reflective with rain. the evening mist was curling through the trees surrounding the portage trail reminding Demitri that it was getting late. 

"No, I should be fine. Thanks though," Demitri shifted the canoe on his back and swallowed. "What time is it?" 

Ainsley pulled back his coat sleeve, then his fleece sleeve, his Polypro, then finally angled his watch so he could see. 

"Ehhh, about 5:30, we should make it into camp in about an hour? It's a short paddle after this" 

'Fuck,' Demitri thought. He sighed, he had totally forgotten that they still had a paddle after this. 

"Alright, thanks. lets keep moving?"

Ainsley nodded, and resumed walking down the trail, his rain pants swishing and gathering water as he pushed through the bushes lining the trail.  
Pushing his arms down, Demitri realigned the bow of the boat with the trail and stepped forward. As he moved forward, he heard the clacking of the paddles that Ainsley was carrying. Soon though, the noise that signaled that Ainsley was close faded away. 

Demitri concentrated on stepping around wet roots and putting one foot in front of the other. He hummed to himself as he hiked along, trying to keep a positive attitude. There was a sharp left in the trail, leading down a hill. The tree line began to disintegrate and he saw the water ahead. He heard a whoop and assumed Ainsley had reached the end. Thank god they only had one trip, he would have shot himself if they had to walk the 2.4 miles there and back again. He began the descent down the final stretch of trail, mindful of the slippery rocks and roots that littered the slope. The rain drove little rivulets of water down the edges of the trail, further carving and the defining the portage trail. 

Once he reached the bottom, he walked across the boardwalk that led across a marshy area and met up with Ainsley once again. Ainsley had his snack pack out, and was munching on a mango slice when he saw Demitri, and jumped up to help him lower the canoe into the water. The two of them then sat for a minute to gather themselves, but neither wanted to wait too long. It was still raining of course, but time was also passing and it was already getting darker than they'd like. Demitri grabbed his river bag and dragged it into the boat, thank god he remembered to put their tent in a trash bag, or they'd be sleeping wet tonight. 

They finished loading the boat and pushed off, Demitri in bow and Ainsley in stern. It was a hard 45 minutes of paddling: the wind picked up, not in their favor, and drove the rain hard against them, but finally they made it to the campsite. The campsite was on the small side, but was grassy and had a clear take out making it an ideal site. By then the wind had died down and they were able to set up camp quickly and without too much trouble. The two of them set up the tarp, and then quickly set up their tent. After getting the tent set up, Demitri set about making dinner. Ainsley grabbed their empty water bottles and filtration pumps from the straps of their river bags and walked down to the water, the surface of which now only barely broken by rain. As he pumped water, he heard Demitri humming to himself, and he smiled. 

"Hey Demitri, what's our route for tomorrow?" Ainsley asked, raising his voice slightly so Demitri could hear him.

Demitri stopped humming and thought for a second. 

"I'm pretty sure we have a long-ish day of paddling, across Umbagog, and then down the Androscoggin? 'Should only be one or two short portages. I'll check the map in the morning."

"Yeah, I can't believe we're almost back to Errol. Want to run the rapids?" 

"Why not? The school isn't expecting us back until 4, and if we get an early start, we should make it in time to run them a few times." 

And, Demitri thought, it wasn't as if their college was strict about that time, they could probably stay out another night as long as they kept the gear in good shape. Their trip had been planned in two parts: maintenance of the Rangeley canoe ways for 10 days, and then a supplied canoe expedition back across the park to the school, with a scheduled trip time of 7 days. As long as they sent a spot check confirmation that they were alive, they would be fine. 

"True, true," Ainsley said, "I don't know if it's worth it though, might as well pack in and then just rent out a boat another day" 

"Let's see how we feel tomorrow, ok?"

"Sounds good."

Ainsley continued pumping and Demitri resumed his humming. Demitri was trying to get a fire started, and only after several attempts was he successful. The spark from the dry tinder they had brought with them caught, and the rest of the (unfortunately) damp wood was soon ablaze. He took a small pot from his bag and boiled water on the grill provided. Once it boiled, he poured 3/4 of the water out into a smaller container, to which he added potato pearls. Stirring that, he set the remaining water back on the fire to keep it hot. Once the potatoes thickened he added salt, pepper, and spices from the spice kit, and opened a can of kidney beans. 

Demitri grabbed two packets of decaffeinated black tea from the kit as well, and plopped them in the boiling water to brew. He took he and Ainsley's bowls out from the kitchen bin, and filled both with beans and potatoes. 'Last-night trip food is the best,' Demitri thought. 'Especially warm last-night trip food.'

"Ainsley get your soggy ass up here, I have potatoes." 

At this summon, Ainsley walked back up to the cooking area with full water bottles. Demitri took out 2 cups and filled them with the tea, now a deep amber shade.  
They ate and talked, all the while commiserating about the rainy day and rejoicing in the lull in the storm that they were experiencing at the moment. They ate quickly, because although the rain had stopped, the mosquitoes were ever present. 

After they finished, Demitri took to the lake to wash the pots and bowls as Ainsley began securing the campsite for the night. Once Demitri finished cleaning, they packed the bear bins and brought them a safe distance away from camp. Finally, they were able to retreat to their tent, a welcome respite from the damp chill that hung in the aftermath of the storm. Demitri went in first to change while Ainsley grabbed his clothes bag from his pack. 

Ainsley then changed as well, and the two snuggled into their sleeping bags to read, Demitri's headlamp crudely tied to the ceiling of the tent. 

After a while, Ainsley yawned and closed his book. 

"It's," Ainsley checked his watch," 8:30, I'm honestly about to crash." he said with a yawn. "Mind if I turn out the light?" 

Demitri yawned in response.

"To be honest, I was just waiting to see which one of us lasted longer." 

"Guess you won, then."

"Yeah," Demitri chuckled, and reached up to switch off the headlamp. 

"'Night, Demitri."

"Goodnight Ainsley." 

The two of them fell asleep quickly, knowing that tomorrow they'd finish their voyage and return home to real beds. Their breathing slowed, and soon the only sound was the light pattering of the tent, as the goddamn rain started once again.


End file.
